iOS 7 available to download now. How to download iOS 7 and update your iPhone and iPad

At its 10 September announcement, Apple revealed the date you’ll be able to download iOS 7, read on to find out what you can expect from Apple's new iPhone and iPad operating system including UK pricing, download date, and essential information before you download.

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The moment you have all been waiting for is here. iOS 7 is available to download. Have you been able to download the upgrade yet? have you received an alert or found it in Software Update. If not keep trying and good luck!

Apple has confirmed that it's new mobile operating system for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch will be available on Wednesday 18 September. Read on to find out what to expect from iOS 7 (read our iOS 7 review here).

iOS 7 release date - after 6pm on Wednesday 18 September

We were correct in our assumption that Apple wouldn't make iOS 7 available for download immediately following the event on 10 September. Based on last year's launch of iOS 6 when we saw Apple preview the new iPhone and iPad software at the event but the download came just over a week later.

We now know that iOS 7 will be available to download on Wednesday 18 September. The big question now is what time on Wednesday. We recall that last year we started getting download alerts around the time we were thinking of leaving the office. So expect everyone in the UK to start getting alerts at around 5-6pm on Wednesday, that's around 9-10am in San Francisco.

Last year we saw some people get alerts earlier than others. However, you may be able to get your iPhone to call out for the update, follow our guide: How to update your iPhone or iPad to Apple iOS 7 for the top tips for getting updated (but beware, you may want to hold off from updating straight away).

Will all the iOS 7 features work on your iPad, iPhone?

Along with the new iPhone 5c and 5s, iOS 7 will run on the iPhone 4 and later, iPad 2 and later, and the fifth generation iPod touch. Not every device will get all the new features so be sure to read our guide: Will I be able to update to iOS 7 on my iPhone, iPad.

iOS 7 the risks of the redesign

When you have managed to download iOS 7, expect it to be "packed with amazing new features," as Apple said in the keynote.

That's more than 200 features, according to the company.

Third-party developers are hard at work prepping new designs as well, so expect things to look very different. The main concern is will it look so different that people are uncomfortable.

Apple's Craig Federighi claimed that: "Downloading iOS 7 is like getting an all-new device, one that's so much more useful and elegant," but is there a risk that if it is too different there may be a backlash. Remember Maps…

Apple design guru Sir Jonathan Ive has taken on more responsibilities following an executive shakeup towards the end of last year, and his leadership of the human interface software teams appears to have resulted in significant changes for iOS 7. As a result, iOS 7 has a very different look and feel to iOS 6, the concern is that people will be confused and upset by such startling change. Hopefully Apple won’t have another Maps on its hands.

iOS 7 rumours and new features

Apple's SVP of software engineering Craig Federighi was on stage during the 10 September keynote to talk about Apple’s iOS 7, while he didn't reveal much beyond what had been seen at WWDC back in June, he did demo a number of areas of the new operating system.

Federighi gushed about what to expect from iOS 7, from it’s “edge-to-edge design” to its “precise typography”. “iOS 7 is alive with depth, responds to the motion of your hand,” he said. “Deep layering is conveyed across every aspect of the device,” and so on.

Federighi went on to describe various features in iOS 7, recapping what Apple announced back in June at WWDC. He discussed Notification Centre, Search (easier to access from any screen), Weather, easy access to Multitasking (double click the home button), Safari (overview of tabs in 3D), improvements to Siri, new ringtones, swiping between different cameras (e.g. square and video), and access to camera filters.

In addition, other new features in iOS 7 include the ability to automatically group photos by moments based on time and location. Sharing is easier (tap to bring up the share sheet), and you can also share via AirDrop.

The Music app also got a mention on account of iTunes Radio, which will let you create your own ‘station’ based on genres. We don’t think iTunes Radio will be available in the UK yet.

“There are more than 200 new features,” revealed Federighi, “and third-party developers are prepping new designs.”

“Downloading iOS 7 is like getting an all-new device, one that's so much more useful and elegant, but that you already know how to use,” promised Federighi.

Here's everything we already knew about iOS 7...

iOS 7: new look

The entire look and feel of iOS 7 has seen an overhaul, with flatter icons, less skeuomorphism and thinner typefaces. iOS 7 also takes design cues from your content, tinting the controls and panels with colours from the photos behind them.

iOS 7: typography

The typography and icons have all been revamped in iOS 7, although Apple's made a number of typography tweeks since it previewed iOS 7 at WWDC. There is now reportedly a wider use of thicker fonts. Read more in our iOS 7 preview: typography and visual tweaks.

iOS 7: camera

During the WWDC preview we saw a number of new camera features including updates to Panoramic photos (available only on the iPhone 4S or later and the fifth-gen iPod touch), the ability to shoot Instragram-like square stills or video (not on the iPad 2). Adding filters in the Photos app is an option for the iPhone 4 or later, the third-generation iPad or later, the iPad mini and the fifth-gen iPod touch. In iOS 7 beta 4 we saw the video camera undergo a redesign of its interface, with more transparent elements.

If you have thousands of pictures in your Camera Roll, Moments and Collections will offer a better way to organise your photos. Photos on iOS can uses metadata such as time and location to create different Moments, a bit like Events in iPhoto.

iOS 7: less skeumorphism

How did you feel about green felt, wooden bookshelves and stitched leather? They’re all gone in iOS 7. Instead Apple iOS 7 has far more flat and abstract interface design features.

Apple iOS 7: updated apps

Weather, Calendar, Messages and Mail all get a cleaner, less skeumorphic look. There'll be a tab on which you can view only your missed notifications.

iOS 7: Control Center

You’ll love Control Center. This new panel, which you can summon anywhere in iOS by swiping up from the bottom of the screen, gives you easy access to common settings, including Airplane Mode, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Do Not Disturb, Orientation Lock, Brightness, AirDrop and AirPlay.

iOS 7: Notification Center

Although you still summon Notification Center by swiping down from the top of the screen, it has a new translucent appearance and it offers different information.

Apple iOS 7: Multitasking

You can still switch apps by double-pressing the Home button, but the switching interface has changed: it now resembles the old interface for switching pages in Safari on iOS 6 and earlier, in which you see a thumbnail of the page. A row of app icons appears below. Force-quitting apps is a bit different – rather than tapping and holding the icon, you flick up a thumbnail to dismiss it (like removing an app from the dock on your Mac).

Apple iOS 7: Battery life

Apple gone to lengths to ensure battery life won’t suffer. The new multitasking feature tries to collect updates from different apps and run them all at the same time, and keeps an eye on both power efficiency and the current network situation to ensure that the activity doesn’t run down your battery.

Apple iOS 7: Safari

The search and URL fields have merged into one that now suggests URLs, bookmarks and search results as you type. A new tabbed interface lets you scroll more quickly through open pages. you’ll also notice the same continuous-scrolling Reading List and Shared Links features that will appear in OS X Mavericks.

Apple iOS 7: AirDrop

To AirDrop a file to friends, you need an iPhone 5 or later, a fourth-generation iPad or later, an iPad mini or a fifth-gen iPod touch. You also need an iCloud account. AirDrop in iOS 7 lets you exchange files such as photos, Passbook passes and contacts between two iOS devices over Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. Files end up in the appropriate app, and are encrypted in transit.

Apple iOS 7: Siri

Siri gets a new voice in some centuries, but it appears that UK users will just have the existing male voice. The new Siri voices are it will be available only in US English, French and German.

Siri does get a fancy revamped interface. It's unclear if it's still in beta though.

Apple iOS 7: iTunes Radio

Apple’s new streaming service will let you create stations based on a song, artist or genre, and rate songs as you go along. Apple has also created 200 featured stations, including ‘Songs Trending on Twitter’ and ‘Artists on Tour.’ However, for now, iTunes Radio is available in the US only.

Apple iOS 7: new ways of doing things?

You have a few new things to learn. For instance, you’ll be able to swipe up from the bottom of the screen to summon Control Center (a panel for commonly used system features). A new swipe-from-the-left-edge gesture sends you to the previous screen.